As part of the process to nationalize the ILO’s KAB programme in Palestine under the Ministry of Labour during the academic year 2013/2014, a Training of Facilitators (TOF) workshop was conducted by KAB National Key Facilitators Mr. Nidal Ayeshand Mr. Shaheer Yakob from 27 October until 7 November 2013.

This comes after the successful implementation of a pilot project in Palestine in 2009-2010, the positive results of an impact assessment, and the decision to nationalize the KAB programme under the Ministries of Labor, Education and Higher Education.

The 11-day workshop was held in Ramallah and falls under the ILO/Welfare Association project entitled “Nationalization of the Know About Business Programme in the Occupied Palestine Territory”. Twenty-four teachers (9 women and 15 men) attended the workshop from Ramallah’s vocational training centres (VTCs), the Ministry of Social Affairs, and other non-profit associations like the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and Lutheran World Federation to be able to deliver KAB in their respective organizations.

The workshop’s closing session was attended by H.E Dr. Ahmad Al Majdalani, the Minister of Labour, Engineer Mahmoud Njoum, the General Manager of the Vocational Training Directorate and Mr. Mounir Kleibo, ILO Representative in Palestine. During the event, the aforementioned officials expressed to attendees and the press their full support with rolling-out the KAB programme in Ramallah.

Participants showed great enthusiasm and commitment toward the KAB programme, giving specific recommendations for the implementation and monitoring process. Of particular interest for participants was the topic of social entrepreneurship, whereby many teachers developed a feasible plan for greening their VTCs through cooperation with local institutions.

A draft KAB implementation plan outlining the schedule and number of hours to be given was jointly set for the training centres, while participants from YWCA and Lutheran World Federation developed their own implementation plans according to their institutional needs.

Work Improvement in Small Enterprises (WISE) is an innovative approach to improving working conditions and productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises around the world. It is a process in which entrepreneurs and managers are empowered and supported to address working conditions issues through the identification, sharing and implementation of local and affordable good practices.

A workshop was conducted in Beirut from 29 to 31 October 2013 to pilot the WISE programme that was recently translated to Arabic and adapted to the needs of the Jordanian and Lebanese economies. It was attended by 27 participants who consisted of representatives from small and medium industrial enterprises across the different sectors in Lebanon, including the food and beverage, packaging, cosmetics, and industrial machinery sectors; as well as representatives from different units of the Ministry of Industry, the Industrial Research Institute and ELCIM.

The workshop focused on introducing the technical modules of the WISE programme to the participants which include productive machine safety, control of hazardous substances, and lighting. Participants were also exposed to the managerial modules of the programme which include Managing and Motivating Workers, Create a Respectful Work Environment, Creating Family Friendly Measures and Managing Wages and Benefits. Since the goal of the workshop was to review and adapt the material based on feedback received from Jordanian and Lebanese SMEs, after each module was explained a discussion was held with participants to go over the required changes and adaptations.

At the end of the workshop, a wrap-up session was held, whereby the trainers reviewed the expectations with the participants and it was determined that 90% of the expectations were met during the workshop.

Under the framework of the ILO project with the Business Development Center in Jordan which aims to integrate the KAB programme in secondary vocational schools and community colleges in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research represented by Al Balka’a Applied University, part 1 of the KAB TOF workshop was conducted over 6 days from 26 to 31 October 2013 at the Geneva Hotel in Amman. The workshop was facilitated by the KAB Regional Key Facilitators (RKFs), Mr. Wael Ghosn and Mr. Samih Jaber.

The workshop was attended by 22 participants (18 men and 4 women) of which 20 from the following 7 faculties of AL Balqa Applied University are ready to start teaching KAB to the students immediately:

Faculty of Zarqa,

Faculty of Engineering Technology,

Faculty of Huson, Faculty of Princess Alia,

Faculty of Princess Rahma,

Irbid Faculty, and

Faculty of Ajloun.

The participants showed a high level of engagement and commitment during the workshop and enthusiasm toward the KAB programme. After participants finish the delivery of the first 4 modules of the KAB in class another TOF is foreseen to train them on the second part of the package.

Under the framework of the ILO project with the Business Development Center in Jordan which aims to integrate the KAB programme in secondary vocational schools and community colleges in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research represented by Al Balka’a Applied University, part 1 of the KAB TOF workshop was conducted over 6 days from 5-10 October 2013 at the Bristol Hotel in Amman. The workshop was facilitated by the KAB Regional Key Facilitators (RKFs), Mr. Wael Ghosn and Mr. Samih Jaber and targeted teachers from vocational schools.

The workshop was attended by 25 participants (17 men and 8 women) from the MoE (Ministry of Education) from the following schools:

The 25 teachers who attended the workshop will start piloting KAB in classrooms during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The nominated 2-3 KAB supervisors from the MoE will follow up on the pilot implementation of the KAB programme and oversee the teachers’ performance by conducting a minimum of 2 class visits per teacher for quality assurance and to assess teachers as part of their certification.

After participants finish the delivery of the first 4 modules of the KAB in class another TOF is foreseen to train them on the second part of the package.

Under the framework of the ILO KAB project with the Development and Employment Fund and the Vocational Training Corporation, a follow-up workshop was conducted for 3 days during the period 20-22 October 2013 at Abu Nuseir Vocational Training Institute located near Amman. The workshop was facilitated by the KAB RKFs, Mr. Wael Ghosn and Mr. Samih Jaber and aimed to go over the challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of KAB during the 2012-2013 academic year.

The workshop was attended by 28 participants who discussed ways for improving the teaching of the programme and agreed upon several actions to be implemented by teachers and supervisors during the upcoming 2013-2014 academic year:

Provide a suitable venue for KAB sessions, the required stationery and administrative support by VTC and the selected Institutes’ management.

Prepare and submit a KAB teaching plan by each Institute including the number of teaching hours per week to complete the programme not exceeding (10) hours per week and (4) hours per day.

Conduct monitoring and follow-up visits by supervisors who would attend 2-3 sessions per teacher as part of the certification process.

Provide certificates to the trainees who completed the KAB programme

Conduct awareness activities on the KAB programme by facilitators and supervisors and promote it to the staff and trainees of the institutes to increase enrollment.

Improve the knowledge and skills of KAB teachers in specific package topics especially the accounting topics.

Include in each KAB class students from the same specialization. The class would preferably be taught by the KAB facilitator that teaches this specialization.

The workshop evaluation by the participants showed a high satisfaction with the implementation of the workshop and the RKFs performance. This high grade is a result of good and thorough selection of participants, adequate preparations for the workshop, good piloting of the KAB programme and good training and facilitation skills of the workshop facilitators.

Following the successful implementation of the KAB programme in Yemen and at the request of the Minister of Higher Education to include entrepreneurship topics in university curricula, ILO developed a new entrepreneurship programme, “Mubadara”, which is an advanced curriculum targeting senior students in public and private universities.

The aim under the current ILO Youth Employment Project YEM/12/50/NOR in Yemen is to pilot the programme in 7 public and private universities in Yemen and reach out to more than 1000 students during the fall semester of the 2013-2014 academic year.

The “Mubadara” implementation modality is composed of three main components:

Integrating the curriculum in the selected public and private universities and building the capacity of their faculty members to teach it using an experiential methodology.

Ensuring quality execution and close monitoring of business plan formulation with the assistance of trained private sector coaches.

Implementing a national business plan competition which would allow students to apply their learning and increase private sector involvement in supporting entrepreneurship in Yemen.

The launching event of the “Mubadara” programme was held on Thursday July 4th, 2013 at the Bustan Hotel in Sana’a. There were more than 50 attendees from the 7-8 participating universities including, Mr. Mohammed Mottahar, Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Ali Kassem, MoHE Secretary General, partner banks, representatives of the young businessmen committee of the FCCI and the press. Following the formal opening made by Mr. Kassem (MoHE), Mr. Qaid (SMEPS), Mr. Kalai and Ms. Bikhazi (ILO), all 7 universities and 2 partner banks reviewed the MOU to be signed with SMEPS for the implementation of the “Mubadara” programme and signed it.

There was a general positive atmosphere and all project partners expressed willingness and readiness to take part in the “Mubadara” pilot.

The upcoming Mubadara TOT is scheduled to take place in September 2013 after which teachers will start piloting it in their respective universities.

Under the framework of the ILO project with the Business Development Center in Jordan which aims to integrate the KAB programme in secondary vocational schools and community colleges in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research represented by Al Balka’a Applied University, a series of interviews were conducted by an ILO consultant, the KAB Coordinator and the Director of Entrepreneurship & MSME Support at the Business Development Center (BDC). The interviews targeted 65 teachers from 14 vocational education schools.

Based on ILO’s vast experience in implementing the KAB programme in the Arab Region, suggestions and comments from participants, teachers/trainers and other KAB programme stakeholders and beneficiaries have helped enhance ILO’s project implementation strategies through a series of lessons learned. A main issue faced was the low number of teachers/trainers certified as KAB National Facilitators relative to the total number who attended the KAB Training of Facilitators’ Workshop and participated in the KAB Pilot. In some cases, only 50% of teachers/trainers who participated in the KAB Pilot were certified. Most uncertified teachers/trainers faced severe time constraints, financial constraints, transportation problems, lack of basic calculation skills or were simply disinterested in the KAB programme.

Consequently, ILO started involving all project stakeholders, including teachers/trainers, at the onset of the project to increase their sense of ownership for the programme, introduce them to the programme’s benefits and requirements, and highlight its impact on the entrepreneurial attitudes of both students and teachers/trainers.

One of the newly adopted strategies involves conducting a series of informal interviews with all KAB direct beneficiaries namely, KAB Coordinators, KAB Supervisors and KAB Teachers/Trainers. The purpose of the interviews is to assess the coordinators’, teachers’/trainers’ and supervisors’ readiness and ability to participate in the KAB pilot and ensure they fit the ILO/KAB teacher/trainer criteria. During the interviews, the interviewer re-iterates the objectives of the KAB programme and the requirements for its successful implementation to make sure that all involved parties are aware of what is required from them and are interested in piloting the programme in their institutions.

Main findings:

Of the 65 teachers selected by the Ministry of Education, a total of 58 were interviewed

Conducting the teacher interviews after school directors attend the KAB Awareness workshop and involving them in the initial selection of teachers would make the teacher selection process more efficient

A total of 26 teachers were selected to take part in the KAB pilot, of which 9 are women

13 out of the 14 vocational secondary schools will be included in the first year of the KAB pilot.

Follow-up actions:

Inform the selected teachers about the KAB TOF dates and provide then with a copy of the package to prepare themselves for the training

Under the framework of the ILO/KAB project in the Palestine (funded by Kuwait and the Welfare Association) and the nationalization process of the KAB programme currently underway in the Ministries of Labour, Education and Higher Education, a KAB Refresher National Key Facilitator workshop was conducted from 13-18 April 2013 at the Ankars Hotel in Ramallah. It was mainly facilitated by Mr. Samih Jaber, KAB Regional Key Facilitator, with the help of the ILO Enterprise Development Specialist.

The first day was allocated for the revision of the KAB teaching methods, techniques and games; the introduction of the KAB 2013 version; and the presentation of the new Key Facilitator Guide.

During the workshop, KAB NKFs presented their KAB teaching experiences. They highlighted successes, difficulties, challenges faced and how they dealt with them. A discussion was initiated after each presentation to exchange lessons learned and share good practices. Participants delivered micro-teaching sessions on several KAB topics.

One session was dedicated for participants from each Ministry to prepare and discuss among themselves their KAB dissemination action plan. Once completed, the plans were presented to all participants by the KAB coordinators of each ministry.

Another session was dedicated to present and explain the KAB M&E tools and methodology focusing on the pre and post questionnaires and the KAB impact report. Additionally, one session was allocated to review the KAB KF guide and the roles of the NKFs in organizing KAB TOFs.

At the end of the workshop, participants were provided with hard and electronic copies of the latest KAB 2013 version. Workshop certificates of attendance were distributed in the presence of Mr. Mahmud Njoum, Director General of Vocational Training at MoL, Mr. Ziad Jweilis, Director General Vocational and Technical Education at the MoHE, Mr. Osama Eshtayeh, Acting Director General for Vocational Education and Mr. Mounir Kleibo (ILO Jerusalem).

Under the framework of the ILO KAB project with the Development and Employment Fund and the Vocational Training Corporation, a KAB Training of Facilitators' workshop was conducted over a period of 12 days from 16-28 March 2013 at Ein El Basha Vocational Training Institute 20 km from Amman. It was facilitated by the two KAB Regional Key Facilitators, Mr. Wael Ghosn and Mr. Samih Jaber.

The opening session was attended by Mr. Hani Khleifat, Assistant General Director for Training at the VTC, Ms. Ghada Al Fayez, Training Officer at DEF and the Enterprise Development Specialist at ILO-RO Beirut.

The TOF workshop was attended by 30 participants (22 men and 8 women) from VTC and DEF distributed as follows:

Under the framework of the ILO/UNESCO project entitled “Expansion of the KAB programme in Kurdistan targeting students enrolled in vocational education institutions and unemployed youth graduates of TVET” the first KAB follow-up workshop targeting teachers working under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) started on Sunday June 2nd, 2013 and was attended by 12 participants who were trained in September 2012 and only delivered KAB starting May 6, 2013 to 276 out-of- school/unemployed Kurdish youth.

The opening session was attended by the ILO Enterprise Development Specialist, Ms. Rania Bikhazi, and Mr. Khalid Khoshnaw, UNESCO National Programme Officer in Erbil. The Enterprise Development Specialist shared with the participants the 2013 KAB version stating that the delay they faced in the implementation of the programme provided them with the opportunity to be trained on the latest KAB version. Additionally, the delay allowed the ILO to initiate the translation of the material to Kurdish and make available the unedited version for teachers to use in their classrooms.

During the workshop it was made clear by teachers that students enrolled in the KAB training, who are mainly women, may not be applying to the loan once they complete the course and submit their business plans. This could be due to many reasons most importantly the fact that they do not have the willingness to start their own businesses (this was not imposed as a pre-requisite on the students who enrolled in the course). Additionally there is the fact that once they apply for the loan they will be forbidden to access any government employment for the next 6 years (loan reimbursement period).

In the last session of the workshop a training plan was drawn and agreed upon covering the topics to be delivered in the remaining course period. The number of hours, games to be played for each topic were presented and agreed upon in order to complete the delivery by July 4, 2013. Consequently, it was agreed to hold the second follow-up workshop from 6-8 July 2013.